Reviews

The Game of Monogamy

If you listen to one of Tim Kasher's breathless indie-rock ballads and think to yourself "That reminds me a little of Bright Eyes," well, no shit. Like Bright Eyes chief emoter Coner Oberst, Kasher grew up in Omaha and attended Catholic boys school while honing his musical chops. Later, he formed the Omaha-based post-hardcore outfit Cursive and helped guide the band into the fold of Oberst's Saddle Creek Records. Pretty much every record Kasher has cut since the late '90s — from Cursive to a side-project called The Good Life to his recently released debut solo album, The Game of Monogamy — has been a Saddle Creek issue. It all also has that distinctive "Creeker" sound: Delicate but intense, tuneful but damaged, and elegantly phased. In a word, Oberst-esque. Supporting his new album — described as more lush and chamber-pop-ish than his band work — Kasher will swing through town on a two-month autumn tour of cozy (read: low-capacity) U.S. venues. There's no better way to see a Creeker.